With A Little Help From My Friends
by TheHungerPains729
Summary: Max is back home from the war with Jude and the gang but the fighting has gone on without him and times are getting hard for everyone and is suffering PSTD. Can they all find some sort of stability in this crazy world where sometimes you need more than love to get by?
1. You Can't Save Everyone

**A/N**: So this is my first Across The Universe piece of fan fiction. The only things I own are any original characters and the plot. Obviously I do not own Beatles songs or else I'd be ridiculously rich.

**Summary:** Max is back home from the war with Jude and the gang but the fighting has gone on without him and times are getting hard for everyone. Jude and Lucy decided a break would be best for them but they're still trying to only be friends even though their desires get the best of them, and Max is suffering PSTD. Can they all find some sort of stability in this crazy world where sometimes you need more than love to get through the hard times?

Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter One: You Can't Save Everyone

. . .

Jude woke up to the sound of Max's yelling and screaming. This had become almost a daily thing since he went back to their apartment with him and Lucy, among many others. The place had basically turned into a commune and people came and left as they pleased but JoJo, Sadie, Max, and Jude remained here, whereas Prudence was her own free spirit.

He felt the bed he shared with his best friend shaking as Max's yelling turned into crying. He quickly moved closer to him and shook him firmly. "Max! Wake up, mate! Max!"

Jude's own yelling jolted the ex-soldier awake and he looked around feverishly, his eyes filled with terror and panic. It took a few minutes for him to gather his bearings and take in his surrounds but when he realized he was home, a subtle relief washed over his face. He sat up and looked at Jude and searched his face.

"Christ… I'm sorry, Jude. I-I did it again, didn't I?"

Jude flicked on the light, knowing he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep, and then took out two cigarettes. He placed one in his mouth before passing the other over to Max who took it almost two willingly, and then lit the ends of both. He gave a slight smirk but inside he was truly concerned for Max.

"Only every night since we arrived back home. It's fine, Max. Sleep is overrated anyway," Jude half-joked as he watched Max roll onto his back and take a long drag.

"Again, Max? Poor thing… I'll go make us all some tea. Ain't no way any of us are going to get back to sleep anyway," Sadie replied as she shuffled from her room across from them into the kitchen.

Jude internally cursed her, knowing that the last part of what she said had to hurt Max a bit. When he looked over at his sleep-ridden face at him, his fears were confirmed; fresh tears fell down his face.

He took a drag before he exhaled and reached over towards a gaunt looking Maxwell and wiped the tears away, just like he always did. He felt his friend stiffen at his touch at first, as if he had expected to get attacked, but then relaxed again.

"M-Maybe it'd be best for everyone if I moved out, found someplace else to live?" Max suddenly put out into the silence, clearing his throat.

Jude sighed and shook his head before he took another drag of his cigarette. "What other place will have rent as low as Sadie's? You're going to be so sorely disappointed by the rent elsewhere, Max. You're just better off staying here with us. And what about Luce?"

Max knocked the ash off his cigarette before taking a long drag. "Lucy doesn't need to hear me screaming my damned head off every night, man. She's got enough on her plate to worry about, between whatever's going on with Paco and her vigilante protesting shit still. It's ridiculous, Jude."

He didn't want to argue with him about Lucy and Jude knew he had a point. He found that he just wanted to shake Lucy and scream in her face to knock it off before she gets killed. The protest on Washington almost did get her killed but even that didn't stop her or even hinder her efforts. If anything, it just made her worse. Just then, as if on cue, Lucy hurried down the hall and stopped in the doorway of the room Max and Jude shared together. She peeked her head in and gave a small, concerned smile to her brother.

"Are you okay, Max?"

Maxwell exhaled the smoke through his nostrils with a heavy sigh and gave a wave with the hand that was holding the cigarette. "I'm fine, Lucy, as always. You should get back to sleep. You have a big shindig tomorrow, right?"

Jude bit his lip, sensing Max's slight bitterness towards his sister. He glanced over at Lucy who started looking tense and uncomfortable, knowing her brothers' views about Paco. He tried to pretend he was invisible in the room as he took another drag of his cigarette and put it out, focusing purposefully on the ashes.

Lucy took a hesitant step in the room and then started toying with her hands before she looked at Max. "Sort of, yeah. Paco says it's important we make a statement to the government about how many lives are being taken overseas."

Max let out a chuckle of disbelief and sat up, shaking his head before he put out his own cigarette. "Paco… Paco Paco Paco Paco! I feel like I'm living with Paco!"

Jude glanced over at his friend, waiting for the time when he would have to intervene and separate the two of them.

Lucy took another determined step towards the bed. "Paco has a lot of good ideas, Max! If it weren't for him –"

"Then I'd probably be a hell of a lot less worried about my baby sister than I already am!" Max exclaimed adamantly.

This seemed to quiet her. She ran her hand through her long blonde hair and let out an exasperated sound before she shook her own head and left the room. Jude waited until she heard her purposely slam her bedroom door before he turned to Max.

"Why do you two always have to fight about Paco? She's naïve and young but still… she's your own blood, you know?" Jude tried to reason.

Max rubbed his eyes tiredly with his palms before he got out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans and a navy blue t-shirt. "Yeah, I know, man… but my flesh and blood better grow up fast before she gets herself killed. And I always have to fight about that asshole because he's the same asshole that almost got you killed at that one protest, Jude. He's the reason I almost lost my best friend and my sister!"

Jude was about to dispute this until he realized that Max was getting ready to go somewhere. "What are you doing? Where are you going, Max? It's nearly 1 a.m…"

Max put on his socks and a pair of ratty shoes before he ran his hand through his own longish hair. "Jude, man… I'm not going to get back to sleep. I just need something to help relax me a bit. I'll be back in a bit."

Jude just nodded. He wasn't going to be a babysitter for both of them. They were going to do what they wanted to do and no one and nothing was going to be able to stop them from doing it. He sat on the bed alone, watching Max preparing to leave. "Be careful out there, Max. I don't want to lose my twisted friend."

His friend looked back at him and then gave a sad smile before he finally walked out of the bedroom and then heard him leave the apartment altogether. Jude sighed and then forced himself out of bed and walked out to where Sadie was cuddling with JoJo on the couch, several cups of tea resting on the coffee table in front of them. Jude leapt into the oversized armchair diagonal from them and grabbed his cup of tea.

"Where was Maxie off to in such a hurry?" Sadie asked curiously, eyeing Jude.

He shrugged and then looked down into his tea. "No idea. He didn't say."

"Man, that cat's always in a hurry, even before the war. I don't know how many more nights I can stand hearing that poor boy scream bloody murder in the middle of the night…" Jojo chimed in.

Sadie sat upright and looked over at her significant other, smirking. "You would be screaming bloody murder too if you were over in some foreign country getting shot at for months on end. I don't blame the kid. He's had a lot to deal with. I hate to be a prude about all of this but since Max isn't working as much anymore…"

Jude instantly knew where this conversation was going and couldn't say he totally blamed her for worrying about money. She and Jojo's band hadn't played in a long while. "Don't worry, Sadie… you'll get the months' rent."

The three sat in a semi comfortable silence, drinking their tea and listening to music. About an hour and a half later, they saw Lucy come out fully dressed, her bag in tow. As soon as she placed her hand on the door, Jude felt the overwhelming urge to speak up.

"Out to see Paco?"

Lucy closed her eyes and then turned around to see Jude. "Yes, Jude. I'm going to go see Paco. I'm going to stay at his place for the morning."

"Sounds like fun," he replied darkly. "Make sure not to get yourself killed or arrested, yeah?"

Lucy gave Jude a disgusted look before she scoffed and stormed out. Once she had left, Sadie looked at him in surprise.

"Whoa, Jude… you need to try and relax! Lucy has the same spirit as Prudence. She'll come back when she wants to…"

Jude took another sip of his tea. "No, Sadie. Prudence leaves, maybe gets beat up by a guy, she comes back, happy-go-lucky still, and goes on with her life. Lucy acts like she's invincible. If she ever gets hurt, she runs to men to help put her back together, and she holds that grudge like poison inside of her until it just eats away at her. She's pretty much the polar opposite of Prudence. And as far as Max goes, he's falling apart. Ever since he's come back, he's been a mess. I don't know what to do, Sadie. Why can't I help my friends?"

Sadie's smirk faded away and her face turned serious. She took a long sip from her own mug as Jojo gently caressed her hair. "You can't save everyone, Jude. You can only love them. Sometimes you just have to watch from afar and wait until they come to you asking for help. Maybe they don't think they need help. Maybe they believe what they're doing makes sense to who they are and they believe they can figure everything out for themselves."

Jude took this information in, letting it soak inside of him like his tea that had already started to make everyone sleepy again. He sat there listening to the hum of the radio for what felt like ages, and when he looked up again, he saw Sadie's head in Jojo's lap as he continued to run his dark fingers through her hair so lovingly as she slept. He looked over at Jude with a peaceful look on his face.

"Don't worry, Jude. Luce and Max will be fine. Everything will fall into its rightful place."

He nodded, needing to believe that more than anything. He gave a small, grateful smile to this man whom he had started to look at as a father figure in his life and placed his empty mug down beside Sadie's. "Thanks, Jojo. Tell Sadie I said thanks for the tea, yeah?"

Jojo nodded once and smiled warmly. "Night, man. See you when we all wake up again…"

Jude made his way back into the bedroom and half closed the door before he crawled back under the still warm covers of the bed. He laid his head on both his pillow and Max's, breathing the young man's shampoo and body wash in through the sheets and pillowcase. He soon fell asleep, feeling okay for the moment, absorbing Sadie and Jojo's words alike, letting them enter his dreams.


	2. Battle Wounds

Chapter Two: Battle Wounds

. . .

_"Get down! GET DOWN!"_

_Shots rang out all around him, and then several loud booms from grenades surrounded Maxwell on all sides. He threw his arms over his helmet as he hit the ground for cover. _

_ "Max! Max, get up through the trees –"_

_ BOOM!_

_ The young man forced himself to glance over where his friend had been giving him orders and saw a blood-covered corpse without his legs. Max felt hot tears mix with the sweat on his face and then suddenly saw a blinding light as screams rang out._

_ "Max! MAXWELL! MAX!"_

Maxwell was being shaken roughly and he opened his eyes to see a worrisome Jude. It took him several moments before Max realized he had been the one screaming.

"Hold still, mate. I'll be right back!" Jude ordered before he leapt off the bed and ran into the hallway bathroom.

Max felt confusion now and the taste of metallic brought him back to his senses. He stood up and sauntered over to the mirror him and Jude had pitched in together and gotten for themselves. "Shit…." Max trailed off, scrutinizing his bleeding lip in the mirror.

Jude came back with a washcloth and placed it on his friend's cut lip, gently dabbing it to soak up the blood. He chewed on his fingernails nervously, watching as his friend took over cleaning himself up, silently. Max was a mess in his head and he felt bad that all he could do was stand aside as his friend lost it in his sleep.

"Jude, man… this shit needs to stop. I can't keep doing this every night. This is getting ridiculous," Max sighed, feeling shame and embarrassment begin to eat away at him as his friend stared at him.

Jude thought for a moment and stopped chewing on his nails before he looked at Max with sympathetic eyes. "This is normal for those kids who came back from the war. I'd be surprised if you didn't have PTSD after all the blood you've seen over there, Max. You need to be easier on yourself."

Max wiped his cut lip on his t-shirt and sucked on it for a bit before he turned to him, handing the washcloth back. "It's pretty sad if being like… this… is considered the norm now, isn't it, man?"

Jude felt at a loss for words now, knowing there was nothing he could say to make Max's demons disappear. Then, suddenly something caught his eyes. He reached out and grabbed his bony arm and turned it over to reveal several circular red dots on his forearm. He felt like someone had punched him in the gut and Jude let go of his friend's arm, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Wait, Jude… let me explain…"

"Explain? Right, Max. Tell me where you go every night when you can't sleep! Where? What the hell are you doing to yourself, mate?"

"I'm getting high, alright?! Jesus… what do you want me to say?"

Jude felt anger and hurt and betrayal forming into a whole new emotion. He was scared for the man who was damn near his brother and whom he loved more than anything in this world. Another part of him felt disappointment; he hadn't ever anticipated his friend shooting up heroin ever, no matter how awful things were, but maybe that was his own downfall. Maybe he should've seen it coming all along.

He grabbed his pack of cigarettes on the nightstand and lit one before he took a drag and then exhaled. "I want you to tell me you won't do that shit anymore, Max…"

Max ran his hands through his blonde hair and swallowed hard, looking at Jude with conflicted eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, man, things are not okay right now. I just need something to help me forget for a few hours. Y-You don't know what I saw over there. I saw my friends die, Jude… every man I came to know."

Jude took another drag. "What about your friends here? What about me? Lucy's doing her own thing but Sadie and Jo-Jo are both here for you too. You're not as alone as you think you are. Shooting filth into your veins isn't the way to go."

Suddenly, something snapped in Max. He took a couple threatening steps towards Jude. "What do you suggest I do? I need… something to get me through the days, Jude! Living on hope and love isn't working out for me anymore! I'm so glad that you can draw and find comfort and escapism in that but that's just not me! I can't do that!"

Jude watched as he moved past him and headed towards the front door. He put out his cigarette and quickly followed him into the living room before grabbing his arm. "Where are you going at one in the morning?"

Max shoved Jude aside with effort. "I'm going out, _mother. _Don't wait up."

Jude sighed as Max left the apartment and then kicked the door hard in frustration. He could feel himself becoming distant from his friend and he hated it. He turned his back on the door and then went back into his room and collapsed back in bed, feeling himself fall asleep quickly.

**... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...**

"Jude… Jude, wake up…" a sing-song voice echoed through his ear.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Lucy kneeling over him, a sadness in her eyes but a small smile on her face. He felt like he was dreaming and he reached out before he gently caressed her soft cheek. "Are you okay…?" He asked her sleepily.

She nodded and bit her lip, as if she wanted to take back her nod. "Where's my brother?"

Jude sighed and searched her eyes, debating whether or not to tell her about Max's drug use. If he did tell her about it, she'd just worry about him more than she already did. It was better if it was just on his own shoulders. "He went out with some friends. Why aren't you with Paco?"

Lucy swallowed hard and nuzzled into his hand before she lay down beside him, facing Jude. She was quiet for a long time as the two of them searched each others' eyes for answers. "I don't want to talk about him."

Jude suddenly got a sickening feeling in his stomach when he saw tears forming in her blue-green eyes. He leaned in and did the only thing that felt natural to him; he kissed her lips softly and then unbuttoned her jeans before pulling them off her legs. She seemed to relax slightly as she kissed him back but then as he caressed her waist, she flinched. He glanced up at her in alarm.

"Did I… did I hurt you?"

She shook her head and then gave a weak smile. "No, not you, Jude. You'd never hurt me."

Jude pulled the covers off of both of them and then leaned down to get a closer look at where hand had been. He felt his stomach clench, along with his teeth, when he noticed a large blue and purple bruise. He looked up at her questioningly, anger forming again in his eyes. "Did that bastard do this to you? What happened?"

"I… I got in the way. It was my fault, Jude. I-I upset him, that's all…"

He shook his head, not believing that for a minute. "Don't, Luce. Don't blame yourself for his temper. Whatever you did… you didn't deserve this."

"You don't understand, Jude. I didn't sleep with him. I never slept with him, ever. Those nights, these nights… that I've been coming home at 2, 3 in the morning… I'm not sleeping with Paco, I swear," Lucy promised, searching his face desperately.

A part of Jude wasn't sure if he should believe her or not but there was an even greater part of him that wanted to kill Paco for touching her like he did. He felt protective of her, even if she was lying and he was sharing her with that asshole. He ran his fingers around the bruise with his fingertips, thinking to himself.

"Did he force himself on you, Luce? Did he…" Jude trailed off, not wanting to think of the possibilities.

"H-He was going to. We started just… sort of making out and… and then he took off my pants and… I k-kicked him. I felt terrified, Jude. I wanted to get away from him. I wanted to come here and he kept grabbing me…" Lucy's eyes filled with tears again and then made trails down her cheeks.

Jude felt an aching in his heart and he instinctively took her into his arms, holding her close to him. He ran his fingers soothingly through her straight hair and soon felt her head on his shoulder, asleep. He still held her, just for the sake of holding her. He wanted this moment to last forever, even though he knew she'd just go back to Paco eventually again anyway. The sound of a door opening and then closing quietly brought Jude back to the moment and waited until he heard footsteps and saw Max enter the room.

"Is she okay?" He asked tiredly, slurring slightly with glassy eyes.

"No, she's not, actually," Jude whispered. He repositioned her body slightly so her bruised waist was visible.

Max turned his head and Jude felt relief to see the same anger he felt. "Holy shit… who did that to her?"

"Take three guesses. Apparently Paco tried to force himself on her," Jude answered, gently laying her down on Max's side of the bed and then stood up, looking at his glassy eyes. "I'm so glad you were able to go out and get high while your sister was almost raped. You're a great brother, Max."

"Oh give me a fucking break, Jude! Like I know what my sister is doing every minute of every day when she's not here with us?" Maxwell hissed, trying not to wake his sister up. He shook his head and then walked out of the bedroom before he started towards the living room.

"I'm not asking you to be psychic, Max! I'm just asking you not to go out and get high when there are other people that look up to you and care about you here. Those people you share those needles with aren't your friends. They don't care about you…"

"I don't need anyone to give a shit about me, Jude. I'm just trying to stay as sane as humanly possible, man…"

Jude sighed and threw his arms up in the air. "You can't do that if you're dead. You need to stop being selfish and think about your sister. How do you think she'd take the news of your future overdose that kills you, Max? I'm sure she won't mind losing your brother after losing her boyfriend."

This seemed to bring down Maxwell's anger and hit hard to him. He ran a hand through his hair and bit his already cut lip. He lay down on the couch and looked up at the ceiling, his face becoming sad now. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I just need something that'll keep my nightmares at bay. I need to be able to sleep through the night, just one goddamn night."

Jude walked over and crossed his arms in front of his chest; looking down at the skeleton he called his friend. "Just try and relax, man. We'll get you sleeping pills or something tomorrow. If you need me, just yell."

Max pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and pulled it onto himself. "I'm sure I will…"

Jude walked back inside the bedroom where Lucy lay peacefully and laid down beside her before he wrapped an arm protectively around her and covered the two of them up, remembering how things used to be between them, when Max first found out they were sleeping together but before he was sent overseas. He breathed her in, caressing her back almost lovingly even though he knew that no matter how long she slept in his bed in his arms, something in her would always call her back to Paco, and this was the part that Jude would also resent about her.


	3. Our Dear Prudence

**A/N: For the purpose of my story from here on out, Prudence is around 17 and Jude and Max are around 20-22 years old (if they're not already since it wasn't really stated in the movie). Also, please keep in mind that this is taking place in the late 60s, early 70s, and keep in mind about the time period and how lax things were during this era. **

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Chapter Three: Our Dear Prudence

. . . 

"Luce, what are you doing? You need to come back home!" Jude yelled through the telephone as the rain hit the windows outside.

"I'm busy, Jude! I'm sorry that I can't be there to babysit my older brother but I've got more important things to do!" She yelled back on the other end on Paco's office phone.

Jude wanted to jump through the phone and strangle his ex-girlfriend, or whatever the hell she was, and make her see how much Max needed her right now. Even if she couldn't say anything to her brother, her actual physical presence would work wonders. Somehow, by some miracle, Jude had managed to get Max to sleep, although his sleep was also filled with nightmares of war. He sighed heavily and slid down the wall still holding the receiver to his head, feeling tired in his bones.

"He's in a bad way and you're abandoning him," he spoke sadly, his anger momentarily calming down.

He heard Lucy sigh now and the line was silent for a long time except for the sound of background talking and shouting on her end. "Max will be okay until I get back. Besides, he'll have those nightmares with or without me around… and we're doing really important work here, Jude."

"Like building bombs and smoking spliffs? Is that what you call important work, then?" Jude couldn't keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"Screw you, Jude! At least I'm not spending my days drawing things that never sell and taking care of someone with PTSD! I'm trying to make sure this war is over as fast as possible!"

Something snapped inside of him now and her words hit deep and they hit hard. He forced himself off the floor. "That's not fair, Luce! And that someone with PTSD is your damn brother! He's not just a random vet you have no ties to! He's your flesh and blood and you're turning your back on him. I hate to tell you this but all you're doing over there is escalating the violence around here! Do you think Max will appreciate what you're doing when he has to go to your funeral because some cop decided to shoot you for being so radical? No, he'll be buried six feet under because he can't keep the demons at bay in his head and you'll be going to _his_ funeral instead!" Jude slammed the phone back on the hook angrily, refusing to give her the last word.

He pulled his hand back and balled it up into a fist before letting it collide hard into the wall, hating that he had no control over this entire situation. Just then, he saw Prudence walk, her shoulder-length hair drenched from the rain. He glanced over at her and noticed her cut lip.

"Looks like you're having a rough time as well," Jude whispered to her, feeling his rage calm down again and turn into worry about her.

She took off her coat and gave him a sad, half smile, hope still resonating in her brown eyes regardless of her own physical state. "What's Luce doing now?"

Jude waved off her question with his hand but chose to answer it anyway, satisfied that someone else felt the same frustration towards Lucy as he did. "Just what she always does, run around leaving heartache in her footsteps."

Prudence glanced up at him after taking off her shoes and searched his face. "That'd be a killer line in a song…"

Jude couldn't help but smile a bit and feel in awe of her semi-innocence. She didn't care about causing chaos and protesting. She only cared about love and art and music. These were the things that he had to admit he loved about Prudence. She wasn't like Lucy at all and although she still appeared to come home scraped up and bruised, she was still able to hold herself together and escape dangerous situations before they got too bad. As far as Jude knew, Lucy would just lie down and die rather than run away from a fight.

"Do you want some tea? A coffee?"

Prudence smiled brightly at the offer. "Coffee would be great. I've been hitching rides for nearly two days. Can I use the shower?"

Jude nodded as he started to fill the coffee pot with water. "Yeah, go ahead. It's all yours. You know where it is…"

"Thanks, Jude. See you in a bit…"

He heard her disappear out of the kitchen area and then waited until he heard the shower turn on before he finished making the coffee and started towards the room he shared with Max. As he entered, he saw sweat beads matting his friend's hair to his face as he moved his arms downwards, as if he was struggling. The sheets were entangled around Maxwell's legs and he groaned and whimpered. Jude quickly moved over to the bathroom, wet a washcloth and then moved back over to his friend, gently dabbing the cloth to Max's face.

"Take it easy, mate. You're okay… you're all right, man…"

"L-Lucy… Luce…. I-I'm… I'm sorry…." Max murmured in his feverish sleep.

Jude felt a bit more anger towards Lucy but let it drop as he shook his friend up. "Max, come on, Max! Time to wake up…"

It took a few minutes but he came to, his eyes fluttering open and then looked up at Jude with terrified eyes. "Where is she?"

Jude wiped the sweat from Max's forehead and then looked down at his hands. "At Paco's, of course. She's okay; I just talked to her on the phone."

Max nodded quickly and seemed to relax a bit, clenching and unclenching his hands and tearing the sheets off from around his legs, obviously feeling irked from the sense of restraint. He swallowed hard and stood up, rubbing his eyes. "How long have I been sleeping for?"

Jude glanced at the clock on the dresser and looked back at his friend. "About six hours… that must be a record for you. I'm making some coffee if you'd like some?"

Max just gave a small nod in reply and then a grateful half smile before he walked out and towards the kitchen at the same time as Prudence left the bathroom in just a towel and headed towards Sadie's room to get dressed. Max poured himself coffee just as Jude entered the room and looked at him in surprise. "Prue's back?"

"Yeah, she arrived about fifteen minutes ago. Did you see her lip?"

Max's surprise diminished and he nodded. "Some things never change, I suppose. What did my sister say when you talked to her, man?"

The last thing he wanted to do was continue to talk about Lucy but he knew that he owed Max information about her, if nothing else. He glanced down at his friend's needle-ridden forearm before taking a sip of coffee. "It was more yelling than actual talking. I was telling her to come back home, she berated me for drawing things that don't sell, and that was pretty much it, to be honest. It's the same story with her, Max… she'll come home whenever Paco lets her come home, and we'll probably see her around 3am."

Max suddenly slammed his fist down on the table, spilling a bit of his coffee as it sloshed over the sides. "Damn it! She's going to get herself hurt… she can't be staying at his place every night like this! Something bad will happen to her and then she'll come running to us. I wish we could just get rid of Paco for good, man…"

Something in the way his friend spoke sent shivers down Jude's spine and made him feel uneasy. He took out two cigarettes and handed one to Max, who willingly accepted, before lighting the two of them. He then watched as Prudence nearly skipped into the kitchen, wearing a pair of pajama shorts and a long, silky t-shirt of Sadie's and listened to her humming.

The two guys were silent as they smoked, occasionally glancing over at Prudence as she poured herself coffee. When she turned around, she gave a small smile and started towards the living room. "Sorry! I'll just give you guys some privacy…"

"Wait, Prue… come and sit with us," Max suddenly spoke up, glancing over at Jude to make sure it was okay.

Jude nodded in agreement and pushed the chair out for her with his leg, surprised at Max's invitation. It felt good to see a smile on Max's face again and he knew that a large part of it was Prudence's presence. She reflected Lucy being there, even if their personalities were completely different. Prudence was young and resilient, and she brought an aura of carefree happiness with her. Max needed that right now.

"How are you doing, Max? Last time we saw each other, you were hardly sleeping at night."

Max shrugged and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair. "Still not sleeping much but Jude's been a big help to me."

Jude felt a pang in his stomach now at what Max said and took a long drag of his cigarette in an attempt to bite his tongue about what he really wanted to comment. He didn't want to bring up Max's track marks on his arms in front of Prudence; sure she knew what they were and probably saw them, but he didn't want to create drama when there wasn't any. He just gave the two of them a weak, agreeing smile.

"Have you tried taking anything? Like maybe just something to help you sleep?" Prudence suggested as she took a drink of her coffee.

Max shook his head and flicked the excess ash of his cigarette into an ashtray before taking another drag. "I've tried pot, I've tried alcohol, I've tried sleeping pills and nothing fucking helps me. I always have the nightmares that I'm being shot at and all my friends are just dying around me. There's just… blood everywhere… I don't know what to do, Prue," Max looked desperately at her, as if she held the answers somewhere inside of her.

Prudence smiled sympathetically and took a long drink of her coffee before she reached out and took Max's free hand and just held it in her own. "I'm sorry, Max. We'll help you through this, though. You're not alone. You have so many friends who love you."

Jude smiled to himself now, watching the light flicker in his friend's seemingly dead eyes and for the first time in so long, he saw hope. Maybe there really was something about Prudence that ignited a spark inside of Max. He took another drag and watched as Max just nodded in understanding and sipped his coffee. The three friends sat in a comfortable silence for awhile until Max spoke up.

"Want to take bets to see what time my sister will be home around?" He asked passively, putting out his cigarette.

"Max, can we not talk about Lucy? She'll get home when she gets home, mate…"

"Hey, that's easy for you to say, Jude, but she's my sister! I have to worry about her. If anything happens to her, you can guarantee that it'll be my ass…"

Prudence finished her coffee and almost on cue, Lucy trampled through the door, slamming it hard behind her as her drenched hair hid her face. They all watched as she pulled off her boots and started towards the hallway. Max stood up and leaned down to look at her still hidden face.

"Whoa, wait… let me look at you," he ordered, gently grabbing her shoulders.

Lucy spun around roughly, shaking him off. "No, Max! Just let me go to bed without you hassling me just for one night!"

Jude stood up now, knowing by her defensive tone that something wasn't right. He walked over to Lucy as well and tried to grab her arm to hold her still but she broke free from his grip too. "Luce," he tried speaking gently. "Come on, look at us…"

She must have been surprised to hear the softness in his voice because it caused her to look up at both of the boys. Jude felt his stomach twist uncomfortably now and he took a step back, putting his hand to his face in disbelief. "Jesus…"

"Lucy! What the hell happened? Who did this?" Max interjected, taking Lucy's bruised face in his hands carefully and examining it. Her whole right cheek looked swollen and bruised and there were a few red angry cuts a few inches away from her right eyebrow.

"Max… I'm fine, really. I just want to go lie down. I'm exhausted," she complained, flinching away from her brother as he tried to get a closer look, making a half-assed attempt to shrug him off.

"Nah, Luce… we need to put a steak on that bruise and I need to go get that bastard's ass until he can't sit anymore!" Max exclaimed, already hurrying towards the front door.

Jude saw him and intervened, blocking the doorway and placing his hands on Max's arms to keep him in place. "Max, let her sleep for a few hours and then we can go kick his ass together. Just let her rest for now and when she wakes up we can talk to her and get the whole story," he spoke in a hushed whisper to his friend who was looking beyond conflicted.

The vet nodded reluctantly and looked back at his sister with helpless eyes before he swallowed hard and then walked back over to where Lucy stood, looking a mixture of tired and guilty. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly before he kissed her hair. "Go sleep, but when you wake up, we're going to talk about it."

Lucy sighed but nodded, knowing she wouldn't be able to avoid Max forever. She hugged him back and then glanced over at Jude before she waved to Prudence and then disappeared in her room. Once they heard her door close, Max put his hands behind his neck in an almost distressed fashion and then closed his eyes.

"Don't worry about this right now, Max… we can't do anything until she tells us the whole story. Just sit down and try and relax," Jude encouraged his friend before he sat back down at the table.

Max bit his lip anxiously, and he began to look as if the last place he wanted to be right now was in the apartment. Prudence seemed to notice this as well because she stood up and took Max's hand and started to dance with him to the music on the radio that seemed to constantly be playing in the apartment nowadays.

He seemed hesitant as he stopped moving with her and even shook his head. "Sorry, Prue… I'm not exactly in the mood to dance right now…"

"Oh come on, Max… please? Come on, let's dance and forget about all the bad things in the world, just for five minutes," she pleaded, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes. She didn't wait for answer as she started to dance with him again, forcing him to twirl her under his arm.

Jude watched the two of them as he poured himself another cup of coffee, enjoying the expression on Max's face, slowly changing from upset and angry, to smiling so big, Jude could see his teeth. He smiled as well; feeling like things could get better if Prudence decided to stay. Hell, he even prayed that she would stay if it meant a happier Maxwell.


End file.
